Lufia, known as Estpolis Denki (エストポリス伝記?, officially translated Biography of Estpolis[1]) in Japan, is a series of console role-playing games developed by Neverland (aside from The Ruins of Lore, which was developed by Atelier Double). The games are published by Taito in Japan, and Natsume or Atlus in the U.S. While the games are primarily traditional 2D RPGs, they draw on elements from many other genres including action-adventure, Monster collecting, and puzzle games. The series currently consists of six games. In the 1990s the games were developed for the Super NES while more recent installments have been released on the Game Boy Color/Advance.

Contents

Plot

Setting

The Lufia series spans the course of two centuries, beginning with the defeat of the god-like Sinistrals in Lufia II: Rise of the Sinistrals. These events are followed by Ruins of Lore, which take place 20 years later. The Sinistrals then return in Fortress of Doom 79 years later (99 years after their original defeat by Maxim). The current series ends with the Sinistrals' final defeat in Legend Returns, which takes place 101 years after Fortress of Doom.

List of media

Video games

The first game in the Lufia series made for the Super Famicom published in Japan in June 1993 (under the name Estpolis Denki) and later that year for the SNES in North America. It starts out with a "prologue" of a team of warriors that defeat the evil group of "super-beings" called the Sinistrals. Then, the story changes to the main story of the descendants of these heroes, and how the Sinistrals are trying to be reborn.

Lufia II: Rise of the Sinistrals, released in Japan for the Super Famicom under the name Estpolis Denki II, is a prequel to Lufia & The Fortress of Doom that takes place a hundred years before the events of the first game occurred, and ends the same way the first game began. Notoriously, it ends with the events that begin the first Lufia, making the first game's introduction a great spoiler for the second. It was released in Europe as simply "Lufia" because Lufia & the Fortress of Doom was not released in Europe. This often causes a bit of confusion.

Released in Japan in 2000 as Estpolis Denki: Yomigaeru Densetsu, and in the following year in America, Lufia: The Legend Returns is the series' first handheld adventure on the Game Boy Color. Taking advantage of the Game Boy's new enhanced color palette, the game features sophisticated 8-bit graphics, a new battle system and randomized dungeons. In this game, the player acts as a descendant of Maxim in the fight against the Sinistrals.

Lufia: The Ruins of Lore was released for the Game Boy Advance in Japan in 2002 as Estpolis Gaiden: Chinmoku no Iseki and a year later in North America. It is a gaiden or "sidestory" game that deviates from the normal lore of the series. It was published by Taito in Japan and Atlus in America.

Estpolis Denki DX

Original release date(s):</div>

Release years by system:Mobile Phones

Notes:

Estpolis Denki DX or Estpolis Biography DX is a mobile phone game only downloadable in Japan. It consists of the "Ancient Cave" scenario from Lufia II: Rise of the Sinistrals, featuring characters and enemies from the original game.

Titled Lufia: Curse of the Sinistrals[3], it was developed by the staff of the original Lufia and was announced in November 2009.[4] The game was released for the Nintendo DS on February 25, 2010, in Japan, priced at 5,890 Yen[5] and will be released later the same year in North America.[3] The game is a re-imagining of Lufia 2 with modified story and characters, as well as being an action RPG.

Canceled titles

Lufia: Ruins Chaser was a game being developed by Japanese software company Nihon-Flex for the PlayStation until they went bankrupt. For a time, development of the title ceased; however, it was picked up and heavily remade in both story and graphics, being renamed Lufia: The Legend Returns.

Lufia: Beginning of a Legend was in development for the Game Boy Color alongside Ruins Chaser for the PlayStation, and was to be a prequel to Lufia II as it told of Maxim's early days as an adventurer years before the Sinistrals strike.